CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

THE BODHISATTVA WONDROUS SOUND

AT THAT TIME Shakyamuni Buddha emitted a light from his flesh cowl, the mark of

a great person, and a radiance issued forth from the white hair-mark between his

eyebrows, everywhere illumining Buddha worlds to the east equal in number to the

grains of sand in one hundred and eight myriads of kotis of nayutas of Ganges Rivers.

Beyond these, there was a world by the name of Adorned with Pure Light. In that

world was a Buddha by the name of Wisdom of Pure Flower Constellation King Thus

Come One, One Worthy of Offerings, One of Right and Universal Knowledge, One

Whose Clarity and Conduct Are Complete, Well Gone One Who Understands the

World, Supreme Lord, Regulating Hero, Teacher of Gods and Humans, Buddha, World

Honored One. He was reverently surrounded by a great multitude of limitless,

boundless Bodhisattvas to whom he was speaking the Dharma.

The light that issued forth from Shakyamuni Buddhas white hair-mark universally

illumined that country.

At that time in the country Adorned with All Pure Light, there was a Bodhisattva by

the name of Wondrous Sound, who had, for a long time, planted the roots of virtue by

making offerings and drawing near to limitless hundreds of thousands of myriads of

kotis of Buddhas and had completely accomplished profound wisdom.

He had obtained the Samadhi of the Wonderful Banner Mark,

the Samadhi of the Dharma Flower,

the Samadhi of Pure Virtue,

the Samadhi of the Playfulness of Constellation King,

the Samadhi of No Affinity,

the Samadhi of the Seal of Wisdom,

the Samadhi of Understanding the Speech of all Living Beings,

the Samadhi of the Accumulation of All Merit and Virtue,

the Samadhi of Purity,

the Samadhi of Playful Roaming of Spiritual Penetrations,

the Samadhi of the Wisdom Torch,

the Samadhi of Royal Splendor,

the Samadhi of Pure Light,

the Samadhi of the Pure Treasury,

the Samadhi of Difference, and

the Samadhi of Sun-Revolution.

He obtained such great samadhis as these, equal in number to the grains of sand in a

hundred thousand myriad kotis of Ganges Rivers.

When Shakyamuni Buddhas light illumined his body, he immediately spoke to the

Buddha Wisdom of Pure Flower Constellation King, saying, "World Honored One, I

should go to the Saha world to bow to, draw near to, and make offerings to

Shakyamuni Buddha, and to see the Dharma Prince Bodhisattva Manjushri, the

Bodhisattva Medicine King, the Bodhisattva Courageous Giving, the Bodhisattva

Constellation King Flower, the Bodhisattva Mind of Superior Practice, the Bodhisattva

King of Adornment, and the Bodhisattva Medicine Superior."

At that time the Buddha Wisdom of Pure Flower Constellation King told the

Bodldsattva Wondrous Sound, "You should not look lightly upon that country or think

of it as inferior. Good man, the Saha world is uneven, its earth, stones, and mountains

are filled with filth and evil. The Buddhas body is lowly and small. The Bodhisattvas

are also small in shape. Your body is forty-two thousand yojanas in height. My body is

six hundred and eighty myriad yojanas in height. Your body is superb and upright,

with a hundred thousand myriad blessings and fine and subtle light. Therefore, if you

go, do not look lightly upon that country, its Buddha, Bodhisattvas, or lands."

The Bodhisattva Wondrous Sound said to the Buddha, "World Honored One, I shall

now go to the Saha world, and this is all through the power of the Thus Come One; the

playful roaming spiritual penetrations of the Thus Come One; and the adornments of

merit, virtue, and wisdom of the Thus Come One."

Then the Bodhisattva Wondrous Sound, without rising from his seat, his body

motionless, entered samadhi. With the power of samadhi he went to Mount

Gridhrakuta, not far from the Dharma seat. He then created by transformation eighty-

four thousand jeweled lotuses, their stems of Jambunada gold, their leaves of silver,

their pistils of vajra, and their sepals of kumshuka jewels.

The Dharma Prince Manjushri, seeing the lotuses, asked the Buddha, "World Honored

One, what is the reason for this portent, these several thousands of myriads of lotuses,

their stems of Jambunada gold, their leaves of silver, their pistils of vajra and their

sepals of kumshuka?"

At that time Shakyamuni Buddha told Manjushri, "The Bodhisattva Mahasattva

Wondrous Sound, surrounded by eighty-four thousand Bodhisattvas, wishes to come

from the country of the Buddha Wisdom of Pure Light Constellation King to this Saha

world to make offerings, draw near to, and bow to me. He also wishes to make

offerings and listen to the Dharma Flower Sutra."

Manjushri said to the Buddha, "World Honored One, what good roots has this

Bodhisattva planted, what merit and virtue has he cultivated that he can have this great

power of spiritual penetrations? What samadhi has he practiced? I pray that you will

tell us the name of this samadhi. We, too wish to cultivate it diligently, for by

practicing this samadhi we will be able to see this Bodhisattva, his appearance, size,

and awesome manner, and his comings and goings. We only pray that the World

Honored One will, by means of the power of spiritual penetrations, let us see that

Bodhisattva when he comes."

At that time Shakyamuni Buddha told Manjushri, "The Thus Come One Many Jewels

who passed into stillness long ago shall, for your sakes, manifest these signs."

The Buddha Many Jewels then said to the Bodhisattva, "Good man, come here! The

Dharma Prince Manjushri wishes to see you in person."

The Bodhisattva Wondrous Sound then disappeared from his own country, and

together with eighty-four thousand Bodhisattvas, set out on his way. The countries they

passed through quaked in six ways, and all rained down lotuses made of the seven

treasures, while a hundred thousand kinds of heavenly music played spontaneously.

The Bodhisattvas eyes were like the broad, large petals of a blue lotus. A hundred

thousand myriad moons combined would not surpass the awesome beauty of his facial

features. His body was the color of gold, adorned with limitless hundreds of thousands

of meritorious virtues. The light of his awesome virtue blazed with brilliant splendor,

and his marks were all perfect. His body was as solid as that of Narayana. He entered a

terrace made of the seven treasures, and rose up into space to the height of seven tala

trees. With Bodhisattvas reverently surrounding him, he came to Mount Gridhrakuta in

the Saha world.

Having arrived, he stepped down from the terrace of seven treasures. Taking a

necklace of beads, its value in the hundreds of thousands, he went before Shakyamuni

Buddha, bowed with his head at the Buddhas feet, offered up the necklace and said to

the Buddha, "World Honored One, the Buddha Wisdom of Pure Flower Constellation

King inquires after the World Honored One. Are you free from sickness and worry?

Are you energetic in your comings and goings? Is your practice peaceful and happy?

Are the four elements in harmony? Are you enduring the affairs of the world? Are

living beings easy to save, without much greed, hatred, stupidity, jealousy, stinginess,

or arrogance? None are not filial in their behavior toward their parents, are they, or

disrespectful toward Shramanas, deviant in their views, unwholesome in their thoughts,

or not in control of the five emotions? World Honored One, have living beings been

able to conquer the hateful demons? Has the long since passed Thus Come One Many

Jewels, within the jeweled stupa, come to hear the Dharma?

"He also wishes to inquire as to whether the Thus Come One Many Jewels is peaceful

and secure, free from worry, and long abiding in the world Worthy of Being

Endured."

"World Honored One, we now wish to see the Buddha Many Jewels. We only pray that

the World Honored One will allow us to see him."

Shakyamuni Buddha told the Buddha Many Jewels, "The Bodhisattva Wondrous

Sound wishes to see you."

The Buddha Many Jewels spoke to Wondrous Sound, saying, "Good indeed! Good

indeed, that in order to make offerings to Shakyamuni Buddha and to hear the Dharma

Flower Sutra, as well as to see Manjushri and the others, you have come here."

The Bodhisattva Flower Virtue then spoke to the Buddha, saying, "World Honored

One, what good roots has the Bodhisattva Wondrous Sound planted, and what

meritorious virtues has he cultivated that he has these spiritual powers?"

The Buddha told the Bodhisattva Flower Virtue, "In the past there was a Buddha by the

name of Clouds and Thunder Sound King, Thus Come One, Arhat,

Samyaksambuddha. His country was called Manifesting All Worlds. His eon was

named Delightful to See. For twelve thousand years, the Bodhisattva Wondrous Sound

made offerings to the Buddha Clouds and Thunder Sound King of a hundred thousand

kinds of music. He also offered up eighty-four thousand bowls made of the seven

treasures. As a result of these deeds, he has been born in the country of the Buddha

Wisdom of Pure Flower Constellation King and now possesses these spiritual powers.

"Flower Virtue, what do you think? Could the Bodhisattva Wondrous Sound who made

offerings of music and jeweled vessels to the Buddha Clouds and Thunder Sound King

have been anyone else? He was just this Bodhisattva Mahasattva Wondrous Sound.

"Flower Virtue! The Bodhisattva Wondrous Sound has in the past made offerings and

drawn near to limitless Buddhas, for a long time planting the roots of virtue and

encountering hundreds of thousands of myriads of kotis of nayutas of Buddhas equal in

number to the sands of the Ganges.

"Flower Virtue, you see merely the body of the Bodhisattva Wondrous Sound as it

appears here. However, this Bodhisattva manifests all kinds of bodies and speaks this

Sutra in many places for living beings.

"He may manifest in the body of a Brahma King; he may manifest in the body of

Shakra; he may manifest in the body of the God of Sovereignty; he may manifest in the

body of the God of Great Sovereignty; he may manifest in the body of a great heavenly

general; he may manifest in the body of the heavenly king Vaishravana; he may

manifest in the body of a wheel-turning sage king; he may manifest in the body of a

minor king; he may manifest in the body of an elder; he may manifest in the body of a

layperson; he may manifest in the body of a minister of state; he may manifest in the

body of a Brahman; he may manifest in the body of a Bhikshu, Bhikshuni, Upasaka, or

Upasika; he may manifest in the body of an elders wife or a laymans wife; he may

manifest in the body of a ministers wife; he may manifest in the body of a Brahmans

wife; he may manifest in the body of a young boy or a young girl. He may manifest in

the body of a god, dragon, yaksha, gandharva, asura, garuda, kinnara, mahoraga, a

human, or a nonhuman and speak this Sutra.

"He can rescue all in the hells, the hungry ghosts, and the animals, as well as those in

difficulty. He can even transform himself into a woman of the kings inner court and

speak this Sutra.

"Flower Virtue, the Bodhisattva Wondrous Sound can rescue all living beings in the

Saha world. The Bodhisattva Wondrous Sound can, in this way, transform into all

these different kinds of bodies and speak this Sutra for living beings in the Saha world

and still lose nothing of his spiritual penetrations, transformations, and wisdom.

"This Bodhisattvas wisdom shines brightly upon the Saha world, causing living beings

to each gain understanding. In worlds like Ganges sands throughout the ten directions,

he does the same.

"To those who must be crossed over by the form of a Hearer, he manifests in the form

of a Hearer and speaks the Dharma for them.

"To those who must be crossed over by the form of a Pratyekabuddha, he manifests in

the form of a Pratyekabuddha and speaks the Dharma for them.

"To those who must be crossed over by the form of a Bodhisattva, he manifests in the

form of a Bodhisattva and speaks the Dharma for them.

"To those who must be crossed over by the form of a Buddha, he manifests in the form

of a Buddha and speaks the Dharma for them. In this way he manifests in all manner of

forms to cross them over in the appropriate manner, even to the point of manifesting

entering stillness to those who must be crossed over by manifesting entering stillness.

"Flower Virtue, such is the great power of the spiritual penetrations and wisdom of the

Bodhisattva Mahasattva Wondrous Sound."

At that time the Bodhisattva Flower Virtue said to the Buddha, "World Honored One,

the Bodhisattva Wondrous Sound has deeply planted the roots of goodness. World

Honored One, in what samadhi does this Bodhisattva dwell that he is able in this way

to transform himself and save living beings?"

The Buddha told the Bodhisattva flower Virtue, "Good man, this samadhi is called the

Manifestation of All Physical Forms. The Bodhisattva Wondrous Sound, dwelling in

this sainadhi, can in this way benefit limitless living beings"

When this chapter on the Bodhisattva Wondrous Sound had been spoken, those who

had accompanied the Bodhisattva Wondrous Sound, eighty-four thousand in all, all

obtained the Samadhi of the Manifestation of all Physical Forms. Limitless

Bodhisattvas in the Saha world also gained this samadhi, as well as dharani.

At that time the Bodhisattva Mahasattva Wondrous Sound, having made offerings to

Shakyamuni Buddha and to the stupa of the Buddha Many Jewels, returned to his own

country. The countries he passed through quaked in six ways, precious lotus flowers

rained down, and hundreds of thousands of myriads of kotis of kinds of music played.

When he arrived at his own country, surrounded by the eighty-four thousand

Bodhisattvas, he went before the Buddha Wisdom of Pure Flower Constellation King

and said, "World Honored One, I have been to the Saha world where I benefited living

beings. I saw Shakyamuni Buddha and the stupa of Many Jewels Buddha, bowed, and

made offerings to them. I also saw the Bodhisattva Manjushri, the Dharma Prince, as

well as the Bodhisattva Medicine King, the Bodhisattva Who Has Gained the Power of

Diligent Vigor, the Bodhisattva Courageous Giving, and others, and enabled eighty-

four thousand Bodhisattvas to obtain the Samadhi of the Manifestation of All Physical

Forms."

When this chapter on the comings and goings of the Bodhisattva Wondrous Sound had

been spoken, forty-two thousand gods obtained the patience with the Nonproduction of

Dharmas. The Bodhisattva Flower Virtue obtained the Dharma Flower Samadhi.